Newburyport Conservation Commission issues two orders, continues three waterfront hearings

NEWBURYPORT — March 17, 2026 — Newburyport Conservation Commission advances six waterfront cases in a lengthy March 17 session. The commission voted unanimously to issue a certificate of compliance for 20 Henry Graf Road, closing out a Phragmites-management order after new ownership committed in writing to continue the remediation plan; unanimously approved an order of conditions for utility-pole work at 13 Hale Street by Palmar Capital Corporation, finding the poles exempt from a formal variance under sections 6.5-34(b)(f) and (j) of the local wetlands ordinance; issued a negative determination allowing a court-ordered deck-landing relocation at 19 Reservation Terrace with conditions requiring the old concrete pad to be removed and its excavated fill to backfill the new pad location; and approved an order of conditions for the city's FEMA-funded demolition of a small house at 97 Fifth Street on Plum Island, with special conditions including rabbit fencing, a two-growing-season vegetation requirement, and a provision that any future public-access path through the restored lot return to the commission for review. Three hearings — a basin-street waterfront renovation, a harbor-marina underground tank replacement at 51 Water Street whose 2010 spill-prevention plan was flagged as outdated, and a pile-replacement notice of intent for the American Yacht Club awaiting Natural Heritage sign-off — were all continued to April 7. The meeting closed with an informal briefing from coastal consultant Tom Hughes, who presented cross-section data showing that a stretch of Plum Island beach lost more than 6,000 cubic yards of sand volume in a single February storm, with peak dune elevations well below their 2021 levels.